Story Time

We have tried to read to Luke since he was a newborn. Lately he has been more in to it. He will give us a book to read to him and he actually makes it through most of the book before he is ready to move on to something else. My mom took these tonight while she was here. Thanks to the Books from Birth campaign we always have a new book to read!

Life has been pretty normal lately and we have been horrible about taking pictures the last week or so that is why there haven't been any recent blog updates.

Congratulations to my cousin James and his wife Jamie on the birth of their daughter today, Sara Beth Cartwright! My mom was pretty excited to know she will be sharing her birthday with Sara Beth!

Nonna's Birthday

Today was Nonna's birthday! She came over tonight for Mexican. We had a good time. Luke is always good entertainment for us. Since I was off today I made some appointments. Nana and Grandpa came and watched Luke for me this morning. I think they loved it and can't believe how much he is getting in to these days!

Pancakes for Breakfast!

Luke's first time to order from the menu!

These are yummy!

I have lived in Nashville my entire life and had never been to the famous Pancake Pantry! We thought it would be fun to meet there this morning for breakfast. Mom and Luke joined us which was even more fun. We missed that little guy last night!

This was the first time we had ever ordered Luke his own food from a menu. He usually eats off of our plates or we bring him something. I ordered the sugar and spice pancakes and Paul ordered chocolate chip ones. We weren't sure if Luke would like either one of those so we got him his own little silver dollar pancakes. The were more the size of a regular pancake but that did not stop him. He loved them!!! He could pick them up and eat them all on his own. He got quite a bit on the floor but something tells me the staff is used to it. We waited in line about 40 minutes which wasn't bad considering it is a holiday weekend morning. We meet some nice people from Alabama and struck up an interesting conversation with them. I would say the food is definitely worth the wait!

Tonight we are going to my mom's to see Andrew and Mandi one last time before they leave. We are also going to celebrate mine and my mom's birthdays which are the end of the month. Hopefully Andrew and Mandi won't live so far away forever!!!

Our View

We had a great view from our room. We were on the 20th floor and directly in line with the Capitol. We were directly above the Downtown Library. I was surprised at how contemporary the Renaissance is. It was decorated very cool!

Joint Valentine's Day

Mandi and Andrew at Ben and Jerry's

Lovin' our ice cream!

Paul and I are usually low-key for Valentine's festivities. In the past we have usually cooked for each other or gone out for a quick casual bite. Well, this year was a little different. Paul started planning an overnight outing in Downtown Nashville. My mom gave us a hotel gift card for our anniversary last year. So, Paul checked to see if Mom could keep Luke while we stayed at the Renaissance Hotel. In the meantime Andrew was planning a similar outing for he and Mandi for this weekend. Once they realized they were planning the same things they got together and planned the night for the 4 of us. They tried to keep it a surprise from me but that didn't happen!

We went to dinner at F. Scotts which was fabulous!!! The food was excellent as well as the atmosphere. We wanted to enjoy the live jazz at the bar following dinner but it was pretty crowded. After realizing no one seemed to be getting up from their tables anytime soon we decided to try to find somewhere else to go. We walked across to the Cheesecake Factory hoping to just grab a couple of pieces of dessert to go. That place was madness!!! You could barely get in the door. So we headed to Rumba to try our luck there. We parked illegally and went in only to find there was an hour wait even though there were several empty tables in plain sight. After much deliberation we ended up at Ben and Jerry's for ice cream. You can never go wrong with ice cream!!!

After this last stop we parted ways. Andrew and Mandi were staying at a different hotel from us. Paul and I both agreed that a night out for Valentine's is fun and hope to do it again!

Valentine's Visit

Luke and Uncle Andrew

Enjoying some family time

We were so excited that Uncle Andrew and Aunt Mandi came up this weekend! They both get President's Day off so it is a good time to travel. Luke seemed to quickly remember who they were and loved showing them his new walking skills!

Fun Times

Luke now has 12 teeth!

This past week I got to be home with Luke 2 days! Ms. Terri was sick on Tuesday so I stayed home with Luke. We had so much fun both Tuesday and Wednesday. We just played, ran errands and had fun. The questionable weather canceled our lunch plans with friends Wednesday. The weather turned out not to be as bad as was forecasted. We also went to proof his 12-month pictures. This was the photo session where Luke wasn't completely cooperative but she was able to capture some good ones to choose from.

Luke is walking so well now! He basically goes wherever he wants in the house. He has been crawling up and down the stairs for awhile but now he thinks he should be able to walk them. He has taken a couple of tumbles that haven't been pretty. It is amazing how fast things are progressing!

Walking!!!

Ok...I finally got this video to load. Bear with us, it is a little long and wobbly! This was taken over a week ago. Luke is getting better walking everyday. It is so cute and fun to watch!

Family Baby Shower

Luke and Anna Marie (the Aunt-to-be)

Keeping himself entertained

The mommy-to-be

Nanny and Aunt Mattie with Lukey

Luke made a friend. She liked to take his toys.

Aunt Sheila, Me and Luke

This past Sunday my Mom, Luke and I went to Manchester for a baby shower. My cousin James and his wife are expecting a little girl in March. Luke did so well! He slept all the way there and back. He played with all the toys I packed and even let other people hold him!!! I was so relieved that he was well behaved. He made a little friend who thought he was cute. She kept taking his toys but he did not seem to mind. We do not get to see our extended family too often so it is always fun to catch up.

Belated Congratulations!

I am a little behind on my well wishes. Two of our friends extended their family recently. The Carver's new addition is Caroline Elizabeth! We can't wait to meet her! With our track record we will be lucky if we meet her before her 1st birthday!

Secondly, congratulations to Brian and Kim Hammond on the birth of Parker Frost! We also can't wait to meet little Parker. What a fun time for everyone!

Super Bowl

Last Sunday we had a few people over to watch the Super Bowl. Katherine, Rico and Emma came. Emma and Luke had fun playing. Luke was extremely shy most of the time. He did let Emma ride in his wagon with him! This is the only picture I took all night. New parents, Jamie and Angela joined us as well. They did not bring Baby Jake. It was probably too much excitement for him! Uncle Jon was here, too. I laughed and said he was getting way too much information on babies and families!!! We are a different crowd now! We had a great time. It is always so fun to get together with good friends.

Big Like Daddy

Somewhere along the way I heard a cute idea that stuck with me. The idea is to have your baby boy wear one of his daddy's shirts each year on his birthday and document how he grows in to it. I thought that was precious. Hopefully we will keep this up and see how Luke grows!